Born of the Night (7 page)

The Probekeins wanted her dead and anyone near her could be the next victim. "Aren't you afraid to be with me?" she asked quietly.

"Afraid?" he asked in a shocked whisper.

"The next assassin could kill you by accident."

Nykyrian shook his head. "Allow me to assure you, if anyone kills me, it won't be by

accident. The contract on your life is paltry when compared to mine."

Kiara nodded, unable to speak around the clump of tears in her throat. Here she sat, next

to a true mercenary, a brutal killer if the truth were spoken. Why was he helping her?

"Are you going to kill me?" Her voice shook from the strain and fear of her words.

He sighed. "If I had that intention, I would never have returned you to your father."

"But why are you protecting me? I thought mercenary assassins were only motivated by

money."

Nykyrian rubbed his right hand over his left biceps. "You haven't met enough of us to

make that assumption."

Kiara conceded he was right. "You avoided my question. Why are you helping me?"

His hand stopped. He looked away from her. "Maybe I'm a fan."

"Are you?"

"Yes."

Kiara stared at him too shocked and confused to feel anything. Nykyrian sat so still next

to her, he seemed ethereal. His blond hair was loose, spilling over his shoulders. As

before, the dark glasses obscured his face, giving her no real idea what he looked like.

"Who are you?" she asked, needing to know.

Nykyrian shrugged. "Never figured it out, It takes too much time to think about myself,

and time is one luxury I don't own."

Kiara fell silent, thinking, remembering. "I killed those guards you know."

Her words seemed to soften some of his rigidness. "The Probekeins killed them."

Kiara shook her head, her tears spilling down her cheeks. "No, they were protecting
me."

Nykyrian sighed again and looked in her direction. "They were soldiers. Death is nothing more than the hazards of the business. They knew the risks."

His words cut through her. "How can you be so cold?" she said with a sob. "They were people with families."

Nykyrian stared at her. Even in the flickering, faint light, he saw her tears sparkling

against her cheeks. He knew her pain, her guilt.

Again, a need to comfort her consumed him. Pushing his desire away, he looked back out

the window. "I'm a soldier. Emotions are bred out of us during training."

Kiara scoffed. "You are a mercenary. There is a difference."

"True. Mercenaries are better paid."

Frustration welled up inside Kiara. How could she ever have thought Nykyrian to be

different. He was of the same caliber as Pitala. Would he hold a blaster to her head if

given the right amount of money?

The thought chilled her.

Her dreams were a warning to her that she couldn't trust him. Trust belonged to the past.

She had trusted the dance company's security to protect her in the hotel and she'd been

abducted. She had trusted her father's soldiers and she'd almost been killed. Never again

would she be so foolish.

Nykyrian would have to be watched.

The transport stopped outside her building. Nykyrian exited first and scanned the street.

After a minute, he helped her from the car. He shielded her with his body as they crossed

the sidewalk and she inserted her key card into the door's lock. When the door opened, he

grabbed her arm to keep her from entering the building before he scanned the hallway,

then the street.

"You're making me nervous!" she snapped.

"You should be nervous."

Kiara gnashed her teeth in frustration, stepped into the corridor and headed for the lift.

"My flat is on the top floor."

"I know."

He infuriated her. If he knew so much, why didn't he lead the way? Oh what she wouldn't give to knock some of his cockiness out of him. "It must thrill you to always be right,"

she said testily, pushing the number for her floor.

As the doors closed, he faced her. "You can attack me all you wish. I don't give a
minsid
damn whether or not you like me. But you
will
respect me, listen to me, and
obey me!"

Anger stung her cheeks at his rapid dictation for her behavior. "I'm not yours, you have

no ownership papers! My God, I haven't even hired you."

"You haven't, your father has."

Kiara stiffened in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean? I was there when Rachol

turned my father's proposal down."

"We reconsidered."

The knot in her stomach loosened. "Why?"

He stepped back from her. "Pitala and Aksel Bredeh."

Kiara frowned. Pitala she knew only too well. "What is Aksel Bredeh?"

"He's another rancid mercenary assassin,
mu Tara. "

She clenched her teeth. "Why do you keep calling me
Tara?
Is it an insult?"

Nykyrian tensed for a moment. "It's Andarion for lady," he said softly and turned away from her.

"Oh," she whispered, curious as to why he chose to call her that after his rough treatment of her.

"Who is Aksel Bredeh?" she asked at last, wondering what there was to the new

mercenary that would motivate Nykyrian to help her. Could he be any worse than Pitala?

She shivered at the thought. Silence answered her question.

She glared at Nykyrian, awaiting a response. Before she could ask again, the doors

opened on her floor.

Nykyrian stepped out and scanned the corridor.

Tempted to shove him and say boo, Kiara bet herself he'd jump twelve feet. Or shoot her,

her mind cautioned. If he really were an ex-League Assassin, he was very dangerous if

startled.

She reached her door and stopped. "This has been tampered with," she whispered to Nykyrian, seeing a strange device hooked into her card slot.

She swallowed the panic surging through her body. Someone was inside her flat! She

could hear them.

Cold fear washed over her.

Nykyrian pulled her behind him then knocked twice.

"Who is it?" a deep growling voice asked from inside.

"The
Tourah
Beast," Nykyrian answered sarcastically. "Open the damn door before I get shot in the hallway!'

"Geez, what a temper," the voice said as the door slid open to reveal a large Andarion male.

Kiara's heart slid into her stomach at the massive form. She had thought Nykyrian to be

tall. This man stood a head taller. His long teeth flashed at her.

Was he considering her for dinner?

Nykyrian grabbed her arm and pulled her past the man.

Her eyes widened as she brushed up against the Andarion's chest. The crimson and white

eyes sent a chill down her spine. No wonder Nykyrian wore dark glasses. Eyes like those

were terrifying.

"Where's Rachol?" another voice drew her attention to her couch.

"On his way," Nykyrian responded.

Kiara stared at the human male reclining on her couch with his feet propped up on her

table. His dark auburn hair, almost as long as Nykyrian's, concealed the right side of his

face. He seemed completely comfortable in her home.

The sight angered her.

How dare they invade her privacy in such a manner. Her agitation increased when the

Andarion returned to her favorite armchair, picked up her bag of friggles from the low

table and began munching them!

Seizing the bag, she narrowed her eyes. "This is my home, not some free-house!"

The Andarion looked at Nykyrian, his eyes wide. "She's got spunk," he rasped with a dark laugh. "I bet her meat is equally as spicy."

His gaze returned to her. Kiara took a step back, clutching the bag to her chest.

"You might want to return the food to him," Nykyrian said from behind her. "It's unwise to starve an Andarion. If Hauk decided to nibble on you, there's not much we could do."

Hauk raked her with a measuring stare.

Her anger vanished. Handing the bag back to Hauk, she swallowed the lump in her throat.

What had she gotten herself into? How could her father have turned her over to these

people?

"They're only teasing you," the red headed man said with a bright smile. "I'm Darling Crewell." He stood and extended his hand to her.

Kiara shook his gloved hand. Something in Darling's manner reminded her of an

aristocrat. He seemed easy enough to get along with, unlike the two Andarions.

"The glutton is Dancer Hauk," Darling said as he retook his seat.

"Dancer?" Kiara smiled, amused by the revelation,

"It means killer in Andarion," Hauk snapped.

Darling laughed, a deep throaty sound. "You wish! I believe Nykyrian told me it meant:

of beautiful cheeks."

Hauk gave Nykyrian a glare that bordered on murder. Nykyrian shrugged, apparently

unconcerned by the hostility. "Well, it does."

Kiara sighed, relieved by their play which took some of coldness out of them and the

awkward nervousness out of her.

Darling smiled again. "I'm sorry if we overstepped our bounds. Being the only one here

with Hauk, I encouraged him to scrounge for other sources of food."

At least Darling had manners. "It's all right," she assured him. "I'm still upset over what's happened."

Turning around, she faced Nykyrian. He leaned against her bar with his arms folded over

his chest. His head was angled toward Darling, but she was sure he was watching her.

She could feel his eyes on her. If only he wasn't wearing those blasted glasses.

Did he ever remove them?

"I need to change," she said absently. "I suppose I don't need to tell the three of you to make yourselves comfortable."

Nykyrian smirked.

She really hated those glasses. She would love to be able to read his emotions and moods.

Kiara paused at the entrance to her hall and glanced back at the three men. She was

uncomfortable about removing her clothes with strangers milling about.

She looked at Nykyrian's stoic face.

"You don't have to worry about us," he said roughly, reading her thoughts. "Hauk isn't attracted to humans, Darling isn't attracted to women, and I'm . . ." Nykyrian paused.

What could he say? All too well, he remembered the sight of her in the skimpy

nightgown. He wanted her more than anything.

Her eyes held the look of expectation. He steadied himself. At the moment, she thought

him a hero who had saved her life. He wasn't. The best thing would be to make her hate

him now instead of later.

"I'm not interested," he finished.

Kiara's blush deepened at the harsh words spoken before the other two men. Narrowing

her eyes, she seethed in her humiliation. How had she ever thought she might want this

man? He was despicable.

Without a word, she stomped down the hall to her bedroom and slammed the door.

What had she been thinking when she considered him handsome. He wasn't even human!

Kiara paused. That
must
be his problem.

No, he said Hauk didn't like humans and
he
wasn't interested.

Jerking her costume off, she tossed it. on the bed. Never had she been so embarrassed.

Who did he think he was? A mercenary assassin? Hah! He wasn't worthy of such an awe

inspiring title. He was just a crude, low-bred gimfry with the manners of a ghoul!

She would show him how little he meant to her. In fact, she'd never even speak to him

again.

Kiara belted her robe around her waist and entered the hallway. She stopped and looked

back to where Nykyrian still leaned against her bar. Her body trembled in rage.

Nykyrian's skin tingled. He knew he was being watched. Turning his head, he saw Kiara's

blazing amber eyes. Good, she hated him. Hatred was one thing he could easily deal with.

But then, why did he ache with the knowledge that she despised him? He should be

happy.

Shaking himself out of his emotions, he turned back to Hauk. He heard Kiara enter the

bathroom. When the water came on, an image of her naked body caressed by the water's

spray flashed through his mind.

Against his will, his body responded with a hammering need.

"Are you all right?" Darling asked.

"Tired." Nykyrian cleared his throat. "You were saying you placed scanners outside in the corridor."

"Right. Hauk reworked the communications system to prevent anyone from accessing it.

The channels will be clear should you need to contact us."

Nykyrian nodded. "I still intend to use the link."

"Probably for the best," Hauk said. "Once Bredeh learns you're guarding her, he's going to come after you with full arsenal."

"I'm ready."

Hauk snorted. "I wouldn't be so arrogant. He won't stick by League rules and attack you

openly. He wants your life more than he wants Kiara's." Hauk crunched a friggle.

Nykyrian shrugged. Aksel was the least of his present concerns.

Nykyrian heard Kiara leave the bathroom. Squelching the desire to look at her, he

returned his thoughts to their discussion. "You act as if Aksel wanting me dead is

something new. He's been trying to kill me since I was ten."

Hauk snorted. "True, but— "

Kiara's scream echoed in the flat.

Nykyrian went cold. Drawing his blaster, he ran down the corridor to the back room

where the sound had come from. Carefully, he entered the studio, then froze.

With a stern frown, he looked at Kiara's rage flushed face. She stood in the center of the

room, hands on hips.

"What is going on?" he snapped, angered over her unwarranted shriek.

"What have you done?" she snarled. "Look at my room!" She gestured toward the black blaster shields over her floor length windows. "How dare you people come into
my
home and rearrange
my
furnishings. And what is that thing?"